Path 2

Path 2

Was Obama’s Pastor Wright So Wrong?

March 20, 2008

As the furor over Obama‘s pastor Reverend Jeremiah Wright simmers down after the candidate gracefully tried to distance himself from the guy’s remarks while refusing to totally disassociate himself with him, can we now finally say: What was so horrible about the comments? Since when is criticizing the biases of America deemed anti-American? Does saying “God damn America” mean you don’t love our country and the precepts it’s based on, which allow us to speak out against injustices and disappointments? So Wright feels America can be hypocritical and not only condones certain violence, but brings on more violence with its own actions?

Well, excuse me, but doesn’t most of the country now agree that we went into Iraq under false pretenses and killed innocent people (including our own), all in the name of lending a hand and spreading democracy? Some of Wright’s other utterances (about AIDS, for instance) seem sensationalistically kooky and Lord knows he goes overboard to make a point, but his racial remarks are often spot on. Who can deny that Hillary may be called all sorts of things, but she’s never been called an n-word and she won’t ever know what that’s like? Are we supposed to pretend that people of color are really given equal rights in this country, or as Geraldine Ferraro feels, SPECIAL rights? (Maybe Ferraro should call Hillary an n-word just so Hill can say, “See? I was!”)

Wright was vilified for speaking out and was subtly used by the opposition to paint Obama as a radical black who could be racially divisive. As a result, Obama had to pander by basically saying, “I never heard these remarks before. They’re awful!” I’d love to know what he really thinks.